Derby sack Clough after defeat at Forest... and is Pulis poised to take over hotseat?

The Sky Bet Championship club made the announcement on Saturday evening just hours after the Rams' 1-0 defeat to East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest.

The loss at the City Ground was the third in the space of eight days for Clough, who followed in his late father Brian's footsteps when he took the job at Derby in January 2009.

Gone: Nigel Clough has been sacked by Derby County following their defeat at Nottingham Forest

The defeat at Forest was a first away in the league for Derby but came off the back of a Capital One Cup exit at Leicester and a home league loss to Reading last weekend.

Former Stoke boss Tony Pulis was seen at the City Ground alongside Derby's chairman and chief executive Sam Rush.

Home form could be a contributing factor to Clough's departure as the Rams have taken only one point from four matches at Pride Park this season.

Clough's post-match assessment gave little indication that he suspected his tenure was coming to an end as he defended his side's performance and suggested he would be looking to bring in a new player on loan.

Captain Richard Keogh was sent off in the game and Clough said: 'We have been looking for a centre-half and he is only missing one game but we might have to step it up now.